pumpkin

Food is the focus of many holidays, and Halloween is no exception. For kids on the ketogenic diet, there are many ways to include them in your family traditions for Halloween. For this blog, I reviewed some tips for trick-or-treating with your child as well as how to navigate school or other Halloween parties.

Trick-or-Treating Tips

If your family trick-or-treats, here are some tips for including your keto kid:

-Provide non-food items or keto-friendly treats to neighbors beforehand for your child to pick up when she or he trick-or-treats. Some examples include:

Halloween themed toys or stickers

Tickets or tokens your child can collect from house-to-house and redeem for a larger non-food prize at the end

-Donate candy to a local charity or group after trick-or-treating. There are many groups that will collect extra Halloween candy for a good cause. If you plan to donate candy, make sure to talk to your children beforehand to explain your plan so they understand. You can also have the children turn in their candy to you for a larger toy, prize or allowance.

-Plan another activity in place of trick-or-treating that would not include candy or other treats your child could not consume. Some examples include a hayride, corn maze, pumpkin patch or decorating pumpkins as a family.

School Parties or other Halloween Parties

Make sure to plan ahead for school or other parties around the Halloween holiday. Let teachers or other caregivers know about your child’s food restrictions and plan to bring keto-friendly foods that your child can consume with her friends.

Here are a few recipes for keto treats that your child can take to the party:

In case there was any doubt, the surplus of pumpkin-flavored foods confirms that it is officially fall. Like many, I look forward to pumpkin lattes, pumpkin cheesecakes, and anything else pumpkin all year long. I decided that we needed to come up with a pumpkin KetoCal recipe, so I set out to create one. I must say that this delicious KetoCal Pumpkin Spice Shake exceeded my expectations. I hope that your keto kids enjoy it as much as I did!

-Mallory

As always, consult with your health care provider to ensure that this recipe idea is appropriate for your child’s diet and calorie requirements. The instructions for preparing this recipe at a 4:1 and 3:1 ketogenic ratio are provided, along with the instructions for preparing this recipe for the Modified Atkins Diet. Be sure to use the appropriate version for your child. If your child is on a different ratio, your dietitian may be able to help you adjust it by changing the amount of oil used. Note that the nutrition values were calculated using KetoCalculator, so if you are in another country or using a different system, the recipe may need to be adjusted.

Ingredients:

4:1 Version:

120 g Vanilla KetoCal 4:1 LQ (you could also use Unflavored KetoCal LQ but you may want to add a carbohydrate-free sweetener if you do)

15 g pumpkin, canned, unsweetened

1 g ground cinnamon or unsweetened pumpkin pie spice

5 g canola oil

3:1 Version:

120 g Vanilla KetoCal 4:1 LQ (you could also use Unflavored KetoCal LQ but you may want to add a carbohydrate-free sweetener if you do)

15 g pumpkin, canned, unsweetened

1 g ground cinnamon or unsweetened pumpkin pie spice

MAD Version:

1/2 cup (120 mL) Vanilla KetoCal 4:1 LQ (you could also use Unflavored KetoCal LQ but you may want to add a carbohydrate-free sweetener if you do)

1 tablespoon pumpkin, canned, unsweetened

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon or unsweetened pumpkin pie spice

Directions:

Add ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

Once prepared, serve immediately or store in a refrigerator for up to 24 hours.